Philippine net office take-up breaches 1 million sqm mark — Leechiu

MANILA, Philippines — Net office take-ups in the Philippines breached the 1 million sqm mark as of September this year on the back of strong demand, data released by Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) on Tuesday show.

Excluding pre-commitments, net take-up in the Philippine office market hit 1,083,600 sqm year-to-date, with Metro Manila accounting for 74 percent at 799,653 sqm.

Both the IT-BPM and offshore gaming industries took up more than 120,000 sqm of office space outside Metro Manila.

Meanwhile, Clark City is the second largest market for office take-up after Metro Manila, exceeding Cebu by more than 30,000 sqm.

Metro Manila “has enjoyed an eight-year streak of low vacancy rates and increasing rent driven by stable demand from the IT-BPM industry. 2018 looks like it will still be another banner year for the office segment, not just in Metro Manila but also for other cities,” said LPC Chief Executive Officer David Leechiu.

“Rents will continue to move upward this 2018 with new deals being transacted at higher rates,” Leechiu added.

According to LPC, the Philippines remains competitive relative to its peers in the region despite the continued growth in capital and rental values in the office, residential and industrial sectors.

Similarly, Philippine condominium values remain on the lower end in the Asia Pacific market at an average rate of P303,000 per sqm. or $5,600 per sqm, LPC added. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral